Did political clout help 'snake' a bike-trail-bypass in Munster?

Did the town of Munster opt for the personal privacy of a
few over the public safety of many when it decided to alter its portion of the
Pennsy-Greenway Bike Path?

Especially considering that one of the homeowners who
asked for the costly and unneeded modification is a well-known,
politically-connected Lake County official?

This was my kneejerk reaction when I heard that town
officials chose to modify a short stretch of that bike trail to accommodate
neighboring homeowners - even though the new path route will cross over an
endangered snake habitat, costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars.

Everyone knows that in Lake County it's not what you know
but who you know. But does this even go for the short but costly alteration of
a bike trail, something relatively unheard of in most communities. As an avid
bicyclist who is looking forward to using this new bike trail someday, I had to
ask the question.

Although many Northwest Indiana homeowners who neighbor a
proposed bike trail initially clamor against it - wrongly citing endangered
property values, increased crime, and an influx of unwanted visitors - they
typically get overruled and learn to live with it.

But somehow, the Munster homeowners who live near the
proposed bike trail were able to get it rerouted several feet away from their
backyards. And one of these homeowners is Jeff Langbehn, executive director of
the Lake County Solid Waste Management District.

The bike path, located on the eastern edge of Centennial
Park and the former Penn-Central railroad right of way, is part of the larger
regional Pennsy Greenway linking Crown Point to Lansing and eventually Chicago.

"Which means
we expect the path to be busy," explained James Mandon, the town's engineer.

The path's elevated route, however, is to be moved about
10 to 15 feet to the west, away from the backyards of several homeowners. But
it had to be elevated more to avoid the Smooth Green Snake's habitat on
wetlands there, state officials determined.

This bike path project has been in the books for years,
and paid for with grant money. But this shift, along with the addition of a
small berm for privacy, added landscaping, and a required bridge over the snake
habitat, will cost the town roughly $145,000, Mandon said.

Old railroad rights-of-way are considered the Holy Grail
of trail corridors by bike trail coordinators and transportation planners. And
towns need to have a heck of a good reason not to use one, especially at
taxpayer expense.

Critics of this modification claim the town sacrificed
the safety of trail users simply so a few neighboring homeowners can retain
their backyard privacy. And as soon as Langbehn's name popped up in opposition,
it seemed politics as usual in Lake County.

But Langbehn insists it's not true and that his
professional title has nothing to do with the trail shift.

"Unequivocally no," he replied when I asked if his clout
played a role in the town's decision. "I showed up at the public meetings as a
citizen along with all the other neighbors, and town administrators listened to
our concerns. They should be commended, not questioned."

Mandon said, "The (Town) Council directed us to meet with
the residents, and others were as vocal as Jeff as to what they would like to
see along the path. The Council did not direct us to meet with the residents
because Jeff was one of them."

Mandon said he's been with the town since 1983 and every
Town Council has been sensitive to the impact of capital projects on
neighborhoods.

"We do this on just about all projects. The community has
come to expect more than the minimum when it comes to facilities and
infrastructure. There is an appreciation in most cases for the idea of value
rather than simply picking the cheapest route."

He wryly noted, "Usually units of government are
criticized for not being sensitive enough."

In this case, the railroad right-of-way is elevated about
five feet along the Twin Creek and Somerset neighborhoods, and several homes
have decks, porches, patios, and pools in their backyard, including Langbehn's
home. In other words, trail users would get a great view of those backyards.

"The move is just 10 to 15 feet over, but it makes a
light year's difference for us homeowners," said Langbehn, who's lived there
since 1986.

Mitch Barloga, this region's bike trail czar from the
Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission, said his primary concern is
the safety of trail users. He would have preferred the trail remain along the
railroad right-of-way.

"Munster officials have assured me that this is their
priority, too," he said.

Barloga said nearly all Northwest Indiana communities
engage in some form of public feedback on proposed trails since many of them
use federal funds and by law are mandated to do so.

Some of those communities, most recently Crown Point and
Michigan City, have even developed bike and pedestrian plans that outline new
routes and strategies to increase the safe passage of non-motorized traffic.

I'm guessing most towns would simply "snake" out of such
requests by ignoring their residents, another common business-as-usual approach
in this region.

But I still have to wonder how many other towns in this
region would cater to such a similar request, especially at such a cost in
these lean times. Then again, Munster obviously has more cash, if not clout,
than most other municipalities.

7 Comments

Sounds like you got a little "hater" in you Jerry. Everyone knows the income stats of Munster is well above average; not just Indiana averages but higher than national averages as well. So their reaction doesn't really bother me.
What grinds my gears is the type of people who work side by side with you in the steel mills, classrooms, and other "average" jobs. They move to specific areas of NWI (I'll be nice and not mention those areas by name) and act as if they bought a home in Munster. All they have is a hope and dream that their home values will increase or stay the same. Munster has staying power. It's not a community that just popped up out of nowhere. It's here to stay so respect their "thug thizzle" and stop hatin' (as the young people would say).

Another thing, I currently run on that trail, I've been doing it for years (the rails were torn out long ago, you run on the gravel roadbed of the old railroad). The biggest risk is NOT this detour. The biggest risk is being nailed by an errant golf ball from the new golf course Munster put in. There are many golf balls on the trail.

Mark my words, someone is going to get severely injured on that bike path. Eventually, the parks department is going to have to put up some netting to protect bike path users.

One more thing, if you'll indulge me. Munster only moved the trail by Langdehn's house in Twin Creeks. The poor people in Somerset, where the trail is actually HIGHER than by Langden's house, did not have the trail moved behind their houses.

I think the evidence all points to Langdehn's clout being the cause of the bike path moving.

I am 99.99% sure that the path, as previously designed, would not require the cessation of anyone's yard to the trail system. As such, the trail was to be constructed in accordance with the zoning regulations on that portion of the right-of-way. If the neighboring residents were concerned about privacy, they could plant trees. Or, if they must have the path moved, they should be required to cover the $145,000 excess cost as it is being incurred solely to pacify them and is of no benefit to the greater community. In my world, I have to pay for things that only benefit me. Why shouldn't they?

My cousin recommended this blog and she was totally right keep up the fantastic work!

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Jerry Davich

Jerry Davich is the metro columnist for the Post-Tribune Newspaper.
Since 1995, he's written thousands of
columns and stories with one goal in mind -- to create a dialogue with readers,
not a monologue. He hopes this blog expands his goal into cyberspace.